PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



VOL. 22 MARCH, 1920 No. .! 



LORD WALSINGHAM.* 



By the death on December 3, 1919, of The Right Hon. Lord 

 Walsingham (Thomas de Grey) of Merton Hall, England, the 

 Entomological World has lost one of the last of the old guard 

 from the period of Stainton, Frey, Heinemann and Zeller, a con- 

 spicuous landmark, a picturesquely towering tree, which to the 

 last gave forth new growth and good fruit. 



Lord Walsingham was born July 29, 1843, and his entomological 

 activity covered more than half a century. He became interested 

 in the study of Microlepidoptera at an early age and maintained 

 this interest until his death, working with his collections in the 

 British Museum to the very end. His work was always abreast 

 of each period and his voluminous writings, therefore, give a fair 

 picture of the advance made in the study of Microlepidoptera 

 during this half century. 



His studies covered the whole world and he described hundreds 

 of new species from Europe, Africa and Asia, but he had a par- 

 ticular fondness for the American fauna, an interest dating back 

 to 1871-72, when he undertook what was at that time a hazardous 

 and difficult expedition to California and Oregon with the main 

 purpose of collecting Microlepidoptera. On this expedition, 

 accompanied only by a few servants, he traveled overland to 

 Mt. Shasta, Oregon and the Calif ornian coast, making the round trip 

 from the Western terminus of the railroad in a specially constructed 

 wagon, containing an entomological workshop. 



His collections from this tour remained, until a very few years 

 ago, the largest contribution to our knowledge of the Microlepi- 

 doptera of that region. He afterwards studied Clemens' and 

 Chambers' types in the East and at Zeller's death acquired his 

 large collection of American types, and thus became and until 

 the end of the century remained, the one specialist to whom all 

 American material of the group was submitted for identifica- 

 tion. The number of specimens sent to him through Professors 

 Riley and Fernald alone was very considerable and together 

 with his publications on American Microlepidoptera, served as a 

 dependable base for the work of younger students. 



* Prepared at the request of the Society by August Busck. 



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